Versions of Reality
by theangelCas
Summary: While on a hunt, Dean discovers a mirror with magical abilities. It promised him happiness like he had never felt before. He touches the mirror and finds himself transported into a whole different world, one slightly different from his own. He needs to find his way back home to his own world, but the question is, does he want to? -Destiel-
1. Reality

_**There is a theory that there are**_ _ **a**_ __ _ **set of infinite or finite possible**_ _ **universes**_ _ **that together comprise everything that exists: the entirety of**_ _ **space**_ _ **,**_ _ **time**_ _ **,**_ _ **matter**_ _ **, and**_ _ **energy**_ _ **as well as the**_ _ **physical laws**_ _ **and**_ _ **constants**_ _ **t**_ _ **hat describe them.**_ __ _ **This could include the possibility**_ _ **that there can be identical objects in different possible worlds.**_ __

 _ **While on a hunt, Dean discovers a mirror with magical abilities. It promised him happiness like he had never felt before. He touches the mirror and finds himself transported into a whole different world, one slightly different from his own. He needs to find his way back home to his own world, but the question is, does he want to?**_

"Cas, I'm sorry, but... I have to go back."

"Why?" Castiel grabbed Dean's hand tightly, bringing him closer. "Why do you have to go? You can stay here!"

"You know why, Cas. Sam needs me." Dean wanted so badly to stay, but he knew it was impossible. He could never leave his little brother back home, alone and with no idea what had happened to him. No matter how happy it would make him, Dean just couldn't do it.

"Sam's here! Sam is in this world, too. He would want you to stay."

Dean shook his head. "This Sam has a brother. Mine is back at home, probably freaking out trying to find me!"

Castiel sighed, pulling his hand away. "I know, but... he's just not the same."

…

 _ **One Week Earlier**_

"Dude, you shouldn't touch that." Sam warned, pulling Dean's hand back from the small hand mirror. They had read about some strange disappearances occurring in Newtown, Indiana. None of the missing persons had any connection to each other except one thing - this mirror. "We don't know what exactly it does, yet. We don't know if it's magic or a ghost or something worse."

Dean let his brother take the mirror, carefully, and put it in their bag. He let out a dramatic, exasperated sigh. "You're no fun."

"Dean, people who get involved with this mirror disappear. Forever. You really want to chance your luck with that?"

Dean rolled his eyes playfully but didn't argue farther. Things had been had been sort of tense between the two of them ever since Cas walked into that lake. That had been a hard day, and it had stuck with the boys longer than most deaths did. Over the years they had learned to deal with the pain of loss, but this one... this one was different. Still, Dean didn't really want to talk about it, but Sam did, of course.

Luckily, Sam hadn't mentioned it in a while, and Dean appreciated the sentiment.

"Come on, we should head back to the motel." Dean lead the way back to the Impala, where Sam placed the mirror in the backseat. "Maybe we should call Bobby. He ought to know what to do with this thing."

"Good idea."

The boys made it back to the motel and took the mirror inside. They left it inside the bag on the other side of the room, unsure of what to expect from it. All they knew was that this mirror was considered an antique, and was valued at a very high price. But whoever bought the mirror would mysteriously disappear not long after, almost as if someone didn't want this mirror taken.

Dean was sure it was some kind of ghost, but Sam was insistent that it had signs of dark magic. That's where Bobby would come in. "You call Bobby, and I'll go get us some dinner." Sam said as they walked through the door.

"Uh, no. How about _you_ call and _I'll_ get us some food. You're just gonna get some healthy crap."

"I am not. Okay, well, maybe. But just for me. I'll get you a nice greasy burger, how about that?" Sam grabbed the keys from his brother. Dean just rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Bitch."

"Jerk." Sam left, leaving Dean to make the call.

Dean explained their findings to the older hunter, who listened patiently to his description. "Well, it certainly sounds like you boys are on the right track. But without seeing the mirror myself, I can't tell what exactly is going on with it."

"So what do we do?"

Bobby sighed. "I guess I can come take a look at it. It'll be a bit of a trip, but I needed to get outta the house anyway. Just do me a favor and don't touch the damn thing until I get there. We don't know enough about it."

"Yeah, yeah we know. We're not kids, Bobby. We ain't that stupid."

Bobby grunted on the other line. "You keep tellin' yourselves that. I'll see you in a day or two."

Dean hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed beside him. He got comfortable and turned up the television, content enough to wait around for Sam's return.

But then he started to hear _it_.

It was hushed whispers at first. He thought it was from the TV. But when he muted it, the voices continued. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but he knew they couldn't be good.

He grasped for his gun and stood up. He followed the little noises as they are louder. He could hear what they were staying, now. _"Dean... Dean Winchester..."_

He came to a stop by the bag Sam had put the mirror into. Dean scoffed, putting the gun down. "Of course."After checking that the bag was secured, tightly, he went back to his bed, ready and willing to ignore whatever the mirror was trying to do, but the voices didn't stop.

" _Come to us..."_ A chorus of whispers coerced. " _We have so much to show you..."_

"Oh, give me a break. Like I'm falling for that bullshit." Dean turned up the volume of the TV, hoping to drown them out.

But they only got louder, themselves. " _We can make you happy,"_ One of the voices promised. " _Happier then you ever have been."_

Dean didn't like where this was going, and decided to call Sam. He knew the mirror was going to try and mess with his mind. Whatever was disappearing people was old and strong, and possibly very powerful. He had to get in touch with his brother, quickly. When his brother didn't answer on the third try, though, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

He searched through their duffel bags for a curse box. Hopefully it would be able to contain the power of the mirror. He couldn't find one. " _We can change your whole world, Dean Winchester. We can control more than time and space. We control everything."_

"You don't control shit." Dean yelled, angrily, getting more and more frustrated. He could feel his anger boiling up, unnaturally. The magic was playing with his emotions. "You're just some antique with a lame-ass spell attached to it."

" _Why don't you come and find out?"_

Without thinking it through, Dean snatched up the bag and pulled the mirror out of it. He held it up to his face, and practically dropped it as soon as he saw the reflection behind him.

"Mom?" He turned around but no one was behind him. And yet when he looked into the glass he could see her face as plain as day, right behind him. Mary just smiled back at him. "How are... What's going on?"

 _"Come on, baby. Listen to them. They're telling the truth."_

"What? Mom..." Dean reached toward her reflection, and the moment his fingertips grazed the glass, he felt himself fall through the floor into nothingness.

It was like he fell into a worm hole. He could feel himself falling, could feel space moving around him, but he couldn't see anything but blackness. He couldn't even hear himself scream, although he could feel it in his throat. The mirror warmed in his hand, and he was paralyzed as he fell uncontrollably through, as far as he could tell, the fabric of the universe.

Just as suddenly as he had been engulfed by darkness, he was thrown back out of it. He felt his feet slam onto the ground, and his lungs filled with air. He fumbled around to catch his balance, his eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden light.

He felt a hand on his back, helping him stay upright, and a soothing voice in his ear. "Dean, are you okay?"

It only made Dean feel dizzier when his eyes met his mothers'. He wanted to ask her what the hell was going on, and why she was there, but his lips wouldn't form the words. He just stared at her, unbelieving.

"We need to get you out of here."

"He can't leave yet. We got work to do." Another voice that cut through his thoughts drew his attention away from his mother. Someone else he never thought he'd see again.

"John, we are about to enter a vampire nest. If he's not at his best it puts us all in danger. You know that." Mary argued, sternly, turning back to Dean. "I'll call Sam and have him take you back home. Your dad and I can handle this."

"Uh, what?" Dean started to come to terms with what was happening around him. He shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine. I can handle a couple vamps."

"See, I told you he's fine." John scoffed.

Mary sighed. "Only if you're sure, hun."

"Of course, Mom." Dean smiled and tried to make it seem less faulty than it felt. He needed to figure out how any of this was possible, or if any of it was real, but not right now. Right now he needed to get his bearings. And maybe, just maybe, hunt some vamps with his parents.

"Here, take this." John handed him a machete, which Dean accepted with a nod. "There should be six of those bastards at most, so it shouldn't be a problem. You got yours, Mary?"

Mary nodded, pulling it out of it's sheath. It was awfully weird to see his mother on a hunt. He knew she was a hunter before he was born, but that knowledge didn't make it any easier. He was used to her being maternal and nurturing, like she was when he was four. She was gentle and kind, and none of the stuff hunters were. Even though John didn't hunt back then, he still had that persona that would normally separate hunters from non-hunters. But Mary, she didn't show that side of herself at all. Not until now, anyway.

"Come on, son." John gave him a forceful pat on the back. "Let's go."

 _ **Thank you for reading the first chapter! Please review and tell me what you think! I want to know if this story is worth continuing. I've been thinking about writing this for a long time, and I have big plans for it if I continue it. Thank you! 3**_


	2. Dream World

_**Thank you to**_ _ **CallMeAnonymous9**_ __ _ **and**_ _ **Faith Crain**_ __ _ **for your reviews! And thank you to all of you who have followed and favorited! I'm**_ **really** _ **going to like this story! Let me know how you like the next chapter!**_

The vampire nest was a piece of cake.

There were only four of them, and they were no match for three Winchesters. The family took them down with ease, and with virtually no injuries.

"Good job, son. You did well." John nodded his approval as they got back to the Impala.

Mary rubbed his shoulder, smiling. "I'm glad you felt well enough to hunt. It's easier with more people."

"Yeah, me too." Dean felt weird, climbing into the back of his beloved car. He hadn't sat back there since he was a little kid. Then again, lots of things were feeling weird at the moment. Like the fact that his mother was sitting in the passenger seat, her blonde ponytail hanging over the back of it. He could see every strand of it, individually. He could see how some were slightly shorter than the others. He could see her split ends. Even in his most vivid memories of her he couldn't get that kind of detail. Not the kind of peculiarity's you can see in real life.

But was this even real life? His mother was _dead_ in real life, she existed solely through those vague memories. The same with John. How was any of this even possible?

As much as he'd like to believe that this was all some sort of miracle, he knew it wasn't. The Winchester's just weren't that lucky. No, this had to be something supernatural. This had to be something bad, because it always was.

"We're going to stop by your brothers before we go home," Mary reminded him. John grunted, but didn't say anything. Dean got the feeling that his father wasn't on the best terms with his brother, which wasn't very surprising since Sam apparently had his own place. Real John would have been pissed, too.

The car rolled up to a pretty nice apartment building. Dean pretended to recognize where they were as he followed his parents up the stairs. They stopped in front of apartment 301 and knocked.

Sam greeted them at the door. Even though he and Real Sam were the same age, they looked way different. This Sam was at least 40 pounds heavier than the one back home, and it was not from muscle. His hair was more like it was when he was at Stanford. He had on a t-shirt and jeans. But overall he looked happy. "Hey, guys." He bent down to give Mary a hug. "I didn't know you were stopping by tonight."

"Well you said you had some information for us, right? Might as well get it now." Mary let herself into the apartment and John followed her in. Neither Sam nor John said anything to the other.

"Hey, man, how's it going?" Sam turned his attention to Dean, gesturing for him to enter as well.

"Uh, great, Sam, thanks. What about you?"

"Good. Jess is out of town for the week, so it's a bit quiet here." Sam smiled. "I guess it's never really quiet for you guys, huh?"

"Not usually." Mary and John were standing in the living room when the two boys finally came in. Sam went over to the computer and picked up a stack of manilla envelopes. He searched through them quickly before finding the right one.

"Here you go." He handed it to Mary. "The area's been pretty quiet lately, so I haven't been able to find too many hunts for you. But I definitely think you've got one here."

Mary flipped through the pages inside the folder, brow lowered as she thought. Dean couldn't see the paper, so he instead focused on Sam.

He couldn't get over how different he looked. He was a whole different person. He wasn't hunting. He had Jess. He had Mary. How much happier he must have been...

"Yeah, I think you're right. Thanks, Sam."

"No problem. I have a lot more free time with Jess on her trip,"

Dean could see John roll his eyes at the mention of Jess' name. Luckily, no one else seemed to notice. "Mary, we should really be going," John said, impatiently.

Mary shot him a look. She turned back to Sam. "We really should, sweetheart. But thank you for the case. I'll talk to you later."

Her and John went to leave. "Oh, I'll be right there. I need to talk to Sam for a second." Dean waited for his parents to leave the apartment before talking to his brother.

"What's up, Dean? Something wrong?"

Dean sighed. "I don't really know, Sammy. I don't really know what's going on."

Sam's eyebrows contracted. "What do you mean? Did you hit your head or something on that hunt?"

Dean shook his head. "No, no, I was fine. It was... before the hunt. Something's off."

"What's off?"

"Everything! None of this... none of this is right. It's not how it should be! Well, no, it _is_ how it _should_ be, but it's not how it _is!_ " Dean ran his hand through his hair, knowing full well he wasn't making any sense. "I was in our motel room, waiting for you to come back with dinner, and then suddenly I started hearing things, and the mirror started talking to me-" Dean stopped mid-sentence. The mirror.

"Dean-"

"You know what, never-mind, Sam. It's fine, I figured it out." Dean turned to catch up with his parents, but Sam caught his arm.

"Dean, wait, please. You're not making any sense. What motel room? What mirror?" Sam's eyes were filled with worry, much like they had been before all of this happened. At least _everything_ about Sam hadn't changed.

"Don't worry about it, Sam. I'm talking nonsense, here. I'm fine. But I gotta go." He patted Sam on the shoulder and half-walked half-ran out the door.

"Wait! Dean!" He ignored Sam's call to him.

It was the mirror. The mirror did this, he was sure. Whatever kind of magic it had, sent him into some kind of weird dream world, much like the Djinn's did. He was right, none of this was real. It had to all be in his head. It was the only thing that made sense.

The only question was... where was the mirror? When he woke up in this place, he no longer had it in his hand. So where did it go?

As he walked out to the car, he saw something move in the corner of his eyes. His eyes darted over to the large dark shape, but it had already disappeared. He looked around for what it might have been, but the parking lot was empty. He narrowed his eyes. Either he was imagining things, or something was watching him.

His parents were waiting for him in the car. They were arguing about something, but shut up when he opened the car door.

John turned on the radio as they drove, discouraging any conversation. Dean took this time to search through the backseat for any sign of the magical mirror. He could not find it.

He was still busy looking for it when the car shut off. They were home.

Although he knew he shouldn't have been surprised to see his old home, it still struck him speechless to see it again. It had been six years since he had seen the house, let alone live in it.

John and Mary went straight in; there was nothing special about this to them. But Dean took a moment to stare at it in awe, taking it in.

"Dean? You comin' or what?" John called from the door frame, disrupting his thoughts.

"Yeah, in a minute!" Dean shook himself off. There was no time for this. He had to find that mirror and get back to the real world. For all he knew, Sam was just getting back, and who knows what he would find at the motel.

He popped open the trunk and rifled through it. He had been right next to the trunk when he "awoke" here, and it was the only other place it could have been. He only hoped he didn't drop it back at the vampire nest. If he had, he may never find it again.

"Hello, Dean."

Dean jumped at the voice, almost hitting his head on the open trunk. It was another voice he thought he would never hear again. Except for this one, the wound was still fresh. He turned around, face to face with the angel. "Cas?"

Castiel stood, looking exactly the same. His hair slightly mussed, his tie not quite straight. He was wearing the same stupid trench coat. "I was looking for you and your parents. But... after last time, your father made me promise not to teleport inside of the house, anymore." He looked slightly embarrassed at that.

Dean tried not to let his disappointment shine through. He had been hoping that this was R _eal_ Castiel, not, not a fake like the others. Maybe he could have been of some use. But then he had to remind himself that there _was_ no Real Cas anymore, so he just shoved the thought out of his mind. "Oh, right, okay. What did you need to talk to us about."

"I found something I think you should take a look at. It has some powerful magic attached to it. So powerful, in fact, it's warded against angels. I can't even touch it."

 _Great, another hunt._ He didn't really have time for this. "Uh, yeah, okay, sure," He agreed hurriedly. "Where is it, I'll take a look at it later."

From his jacket pocket, he pulled out an object wrapped in cloth. "Here, be careful. It's very old."

Dean took it from Castiel, and unwrapped the cloth away from it. His eyes widened. "Cas, where did you find this?"

"I was trying to track down a rouge angel that I thought may have some valuable information. I found the place that they were supposedly staying, but... they were long gone by the time I got there. But as I was searching the place, I heard... I heard something calling out to me. I found it in one of the chests, but I couldn't touch it. I don't recognize it, but I do recognize the angel wardings."

Dean stared down at the mirror in his hand. It was no coincidence that Castiel just _found_ the same mirror he had lost, the same day he arrived. "Is there _anything_ you know about this mirror? Do you know what kind of magic is on it?"

Castiel shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. The warding is also hiding it from me."

Dean frowned. "Thanks, anyway, I guess." He held the mirror up to his face. Last time he looked into it, he could see his mother, clear as day.

He stared into the glass, waiting for someone to appear, again.

"Dean? Are you okay?" Castiel asked. Dean ignored him. "What are you trying to do?"

"Shh!" Dean shushed him as a face began to fade into view, as if someone was standing behind him. At first he couldn't tell who it was, but then... "Cas?"

"Yes, Dean?"

Dean shook his head. He could see Castiel in the mirror behind him, except... he looked slightly off. His face was slightly distorted, as if the mirror was cracked, (which it wasn't,) and his eyes were a darker blue than usual. "Nothing, I, uh, I gotta go..."

"Are you going to look at the mirror for me?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, dude, of course. Just, uh, one thing."

"What is it?"

"Would you just, like... tell my mom... you know what, never mind." Dean sighed. It was bittersweet to see his mother again, but she wasn't real. There was no point in telling her anything. The Real Mary knew, anyway, how much he loved her. He didn't need to tell Fake Mary so.

He pressed his finger tips against the glass mirror, knowing that he would be transported back home, where he belonged, so that he and Sammy could figure out this whole mirror thing, properly. Just as expected, as he did, he felt himself fall through the Earth, yet again.

This time he was not shocked when he landed on his feet, although he was still a bit dizzy. What he _wasn't_ expecting was to be immediately drenched in water when he did.

He closed his eyes and fumbled around until he found the switch for the water, and shut the shower off. He took deep breaths and tried to stabilize himself, again. Once he knew he could walk, he stepped out of the shower.

He was in some motel bathroom, that was for sure. But it wasn't the motel he had come from. Wherever he was, it wasn't home. "Damn it," He cursed under his breath. He found a towel and wrapped it around himself. He creaked open the bathroom door and took a look around. There were two queen beds, and clothes were tossed around the room. He spotted his own duffel bag near the foot of one of the beds, and Sam's at the foot of the other.

The bed with Sam's duffel was empty, but there was someone in the bed with his stuff. He quietly walked around the bed to see who it was. _Castiel?_ The angel was sound asleep, which he didn't think angels were even capable of. _What is he doing here?_

He snuck over to his bag and pulled out some clothing. He ran back into the bathroom and threw them on before going back into the main room. He sat down on Sam's bed, where his little brother had apparently left a note. "On a beer run. Back soon. -Sam"

Dean sighed, glancing around the room. The mirror had not taken him home at all. It just transferred him from one fake world to the next. It didn't make any sense.

He decided to wait for Sam to get back. Fake or not, Sam would be extremely helpful in figuring out who was behind the magic in the mirror. The kid was such a dork when it came to researching shit like that.

He waited on Sam's bed, eventually falling asleep. He wasn't sure how much later it was when his brother shook him awake. "Hey, get up asshole. This is my bed."

Dean opened his eyes, slowly. "W-what?"

"Come on, dude. I was gone for like 20 minutes and you already claimed my bed as your own. Get in your own bed if you wanna go back to sleep." Sam nudged him over and sat down himself.

"Can't. Cas is in my bed."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, I know, dude. He was there all night. But somehow you managed to sleep, then."

That woke Dean up. "Wait, what?"

Sam looked at him, confused. "Man, you are really out of it, aren't you? You seriously need to sleep. But not here. Go back to your freakin' boyfriend, dude."

Dean glanced back at Castiel's sleeping form. _Oh no,_ he thought to himself. _He can't be serious_. This world was even weirder than the last.


	3. Confusion

_**Oh my god, it's been such a long time since I updated! I'm so sorry! Part of it was that I took a week off for RTX, so shout out to all my Rooster Teeth fans reading this! Again, sorry for how long it's been.**_

 _ **Thank you**_ _ **to**_ _ **Vector.**_ _ **MaddyR,**_ __ _ **and**_ _ **cozmikfaerie**_ __ _ **for your reviews!**_ __ _ **Reviews are what keep me writing! I hope you guys are liking where this is all going. I know I am!**_

"I, uh... I'll be right back." Dean scrambled up from the bed and made a beeline to the door. He just needed to get out of there. He just needed to think.

"Dean? Where are you going?" Sam called after him, but Dean slammed the door shut as he left.

He pressed his back against the wall of the motel building. It was still pretty early in the morning. The sun was still low on the horizon. He saw a couple loading their things into their car. He saw a shady looking guy smoking a cigarette across the parking lot.

He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his dampened hair. His head was spinning. He truly thought the mirror was his ticket out of this place. He was so sure he'd be back home right now. But instead he was still stuck wherever the hell this was. Some twisted universe that he couldn't seem to escape.

"Why'd I have to touch the damn thing?" Dean cursed himself. If only he had done the smart thing and waited for Sam to come back before messing with the mirror. If only he had waited for Bobby to give them more information about it. But instead he reacted impulsively, just as usual. "So fucking stupid."

"Dean?"

Dean straightened up as Castiel appeared behind the now open door. The angel closed the door and stood beside Dean. He leaned just a little too close for comfort. "Is something the matter? Sam said you just ran out."

Dean took a slight step to the side, putting some space between the two. He couldn't even look Castiel in the eye at the moment. "No... No, I'm good. I just needed some... air."

Castiel narrowed his eyes. "You look like you're lying, Dean."

"I lie for a living, Castiel. You couldn't possibly know when I'm lying."

"I do know. I know _you_." Castiel grabbed Dean's hand, and Dean had to force himself not to pull away, immediately."You know you can be honest with me, Dean."

Dean shook his head. "I already told you, I just wanted some air. What more do you want from me?"

"You're avoiding eye contact. That's a sign of deceit."

Dean sighed and met his eyes in an effort to seem more sincere. Castiel gazed at him, thoughtfully. Dean could feel his heartbeat getting faster as Cas stared at him. It took a lot of concentration to get his words out. "I promise you, Castiel. I'm fine. You can go back inside."

"Come back in, too." Castiel's voice was almost whiny as he smiled at Dean. Back in the real world, he could have never imagined the angel sounding like that. He couldn't have imagined any of this.

"Alright, alright, I'm comin'." Dean took a step forward but Castiel stuck out his hand to stop him. Quicker than it took Dean to react, he leaned up and kissed him.

Castiel's fingers had curled around Dean's shirt as he pulled him closer. Dean stayed still with his hands out until he finally stopped. Without another word, Castiel headed inside. Dean stood there for a few moments, and then followed.

Castiel sat on the bed. Sam was on the other, his laptop out and opened on his lap. Dean glanced momentarily at Cas, but passed by him to get to Sam. "Uh, Sam, could you look something up for me?"

"What so you need?"

"Well, that's the thing. I'm not 100% sure." Dean sat on the edge. "I need to know about... uh... magical mirrors."

"Magic mirrors?" Sam repeated, humorously. "You mean like in Snow White?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "No, dude, not like that princess crap. I mean like actual mirrors with actual magic attached to them."

"If you say so. Why are you interested in magic mirrors, anyway?"

"Just a... possible hunt I've been looking into. Not really sure about anything yet. It's just that you're generally better at this than me."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll see what I can find."

"Thanks."

"If you'd like, we could go do some research at the library. They may have something the internet does not." Castiel offered.

"Dude, it's the internet. It has everything."

"Dean, you should go." Sam reached with his leg and tapped his brother. "Spend some time with Cas. I know you've wanted to. Plus, you may even be useful for once."

Dean frowned. This was the last thing he wanted right now. He needed to lay low, and be _away_ from Sam _and_ Cas. He wasn't who they thought he was, and he couldn't expose that to them.

But he couldn't tell any of that to Sam. So instead, he agreed. "Fine. If you think it'll help. Just... try and get that information for me, okay?"

"Of course."

…

Dean purposefully sat on the opposite side of the table from Cas as he read through book after book. Most books about magic mirrors were pure fiction, which was not surprising. Still, he read through parts of them, hoping that something would sound familiar.

He could feel Castiel starring at him as he read. The angel could obviously tell that something was up with Dean, and while he appreciated the concern, Dean didn't want anything to do with him, at the moment. It was too weird, and too awkward. He would rather work with this universes' Sam, who seemed pretty much the same as the one back home.

"Dean, can I ask you something?" Dean looked up from his reading, and nodded, hesitantly."Why are you suddenly interested in magic mirrors?"

"I told you, Castiel. It's for a hunt. A possible one, anyway."

"And what's with calling me Castiel all the time?"

Dean gave him a confused look. "That's your name."

"Yes, that's true. But you never call me that, anymore. You call me Cas."

"Not all the time."

Castiel sighed. "You're being distant. You always act this way when something is wrong."

"Well, nothing is wrong. Maybe you don't know as much about me as you think you do." Dean replied, bitterly. Castiel seemed hurt by his words, and Dean suddenly felt ashamed for being so blunt, but before he had a chance to say anymore, his cell phone rang.

 _Thunderstruck_ boomed at full volume, sending angry looks his direction from the rest of the people in the library. Dean fumbled to answer it as fast as possible. "What, yes, hello?"

"Dean? You okay?" It was Sam.

"Yeah, sorry, just... anyway, what's up?"

"I think I got something for you. Wanna head back?"

Dean felt himself relax slightly at the good news. "Yeah, totally. We'll be right there."

"How's it going with Cas? You guys getting along fine?"

"Dude."

"Sorry! None of my business... hurry back."

…

The car ride back to the motel was awkward, but short. They both rushed inside to see what Sam had dug up.

"Magic mirrors is a little vague, dude," Sam began. "I didn't have much to go on. There are plenty of fictional references throughout history about magic mirrors, but most of it doesn't have any sort of substance. It's all crap. The Chinese, among others, have legends about creatures in mirrors, but again, no proof."

"Okay, I'm lost. I thought you said you had _good_ news."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I do. Sort of. Basically, I got nothing from the lore. Nothing for sure, anyway. But, I do have a lead on a mirror itself."

"A magic mirror?"

"Duh. There's this place kind of like the Mystery Spot we visited before, when we ran into the Trickster. As much as I don't want to deal with crap like that, again... this one supposedly has some kind of mirror that is supposed to be a window into another world."

"That doesn't seem legitimate." Castiel commented. "Are you sure about this?"

"No," Sam almost laughed. "Not at all. But... I heard from another hunter who checked it out. She... she seemed pretty spooked. She swore this thing was real. I figured it was worth a shot."

"Is it close?"

Sam nodded. "Very close, actually. You got lucky. Four hours tops."

Dean clapped his hands together. "Okay. I'm gonna check this thing out. You guys can stay."

"What? Why?" Castiel and Sam spoke simultaneously.

"It's not exactly a big job. There's no need for three of us."

"Better safe than sorry." Sam picked up the keys to the Impala. "We got nowhere else to be. Right Cas?"

Cas seemed unsure, but agreed.

Dean wasn't sure he wanted them along for the ride, but it didn't seem like they were going to budge. Besides, they may even be useful if this lead ended up being real. "Alright, I guess. Let's go."


	4. Delusion

_**So sorry for the long wait! If you read**_ **Imaginary Friends** ** _(and you_ totally _should), you already know, but my computer fried, and I lost all kinds of documents. I thought by now I would have recovered those documents, but I still have not. So at least for now, I'll have to continue on without them. Oh well, it is what it is. I hope you guys are still interested in reading this, because I have a lot of plans for it. Thanks for coming back, hope you enjoy!_**

Castiel was able to zap them to the "Mystery Spot", which ended up being called "The Museum of Magic." Dean was immediately skeptical of the place, the moment they saw the sign. It looked rundown, like no one had bothered to take care of it for years. "I'll be shocked if it's even still open."

Sam shrugged. "According to the website, it is. Come on, let's see what's inside."

Sam opened the door, which made a little _ding_ when he did so. Half a second later, a disheveled man in the late 50s popped out of nowhere. "Well, hello there! Welcome to the Museum _of Magic_! I am the Museum curator, Jack Kale! But you can just call me Jack." He enthusiastically shook all of their hands, one by one.

Dean shot a sideways glance at Sam. "Uh, hi… Jack. It's a, uh, nice place you got here."

"Why _thank you_ , sir! Are you three fellas here for a tour? We've got one scheduled to start in just a few minutes!"

"We're actually here to see something specifically," Sam smiled, politely, trying to hide his skepticism. "I read on your website-"

"Oh, the _website_! You saw it?" The man asked, excitedly. "I'm _so_ happy about that! I had my nephew put it up on the internet for me! It's been up a couple months. How does it look?"

"Uh… it looks good. But, I read on there that you have a magic mirror?"

"Oh, yes! The Mirror to Another World! I can show you it now, if you'd like!"

"Thank you."

"You'll just need to buy a ticket! They're $15 each!"

Sam sighed, and looked at Dean. "I guess we'll take three." Jack left to get the tickets. "I hope this is worth it, Dean."

"It doesn't look like the kind of place any real magical objects would end up." Castiel commented, mostly to himself.

Dean clenched his jaw. "Look, you're the one who found this place. I don't know if it's legit or not."

Before the conversation could continue any further, Jack came back with three paper wrist bands. He had them all extend their arms so he could tape it on them. Castiel stared down at it with great confusion, making Dean chuckle just a bit. "Great! Come along with me, now! I'll take you to the mirror!"

They followed Jack through the museum, which seemed to be made more out of plastic than magic. Finally, he stopped, stretching his hands out wide. "Welcome to the Mirror to Another World!" He began his spiel. "If you look closely, you might just see something… otherworldly. Take it from me, I've seen plenty of weird things, walking by it everyday at work."

Sam and Castiel studied it, looking for any signs of real magic, but Dean didn't have to. It was an old, gold, full-length mirror, nothing like the hand mirror he was looking for. He was certain if he checked behind it, he'd find a half-peeled "Made in China" sticker. This was not the mirror, after all. He tapped Sam's shoulder and shook his head.

"So, what do you think?" Jack turned to them, smiling ear to ear.

"It looks… pretty cool. I can only imagine the things I could see in it." Sam replied, awkwardly, not wanting to hurt the guys feelings. He was quite friendly, after all. It wasn't his fault he had such a bogus job.

Castiel was disappointed by the mirror's discovery. Dean had been acting odd all day, and he thought that by finding the mirror, it would quell his worries, and he'd be himself, again. He sighed, glancing around the museum floor. As he did so, a glint of glass caught his eye.

Dean noticed Castiel walking away as Sam tried to talk to Jack. He watched the angel go toward one of the employee desks. He bent down to grab something from the shelf beneath the desk. Before he could see what it was, he heard Jack. "Whoa, whoa, sir! That's not part of the exhibit! That's my desk!"

Jack ran to Castiel, and Sam and Dean followed. Dean was about to chastise Castiel for so obviously going through the guy's stuff when he was right there, but his words caught in his throat. Because when Castiel stood back up, he was holding the god damn mirror.

Castiel gave Dean a questioning look. _Is this what you are looking for?_ Dean nodded, slowly. What kind of coincidence was that? This couldn't possibly be happening. Was the universe playing a trick on him? "Is this yours, sir?" Castiel asked.

"Yes, it is. It's my wife's. Could you give that back, please?" Jack grabbed the handle of the mirror, and took it back. "Now, please, you are free to wander around the rest of the museum, but you can't be here."

"How much for it?" Dean asked, suddenly. "For the mirror, I mean. How much?"

"Pardon, me?" Jack's eyes widened. "You want to buy my mirror? Well I'm afraid it's not for sale. As I said, it belongs to my wife-"

"Look, I got..." Dean opened his wallet, and pulled out all the cash he had. "I have almost $300 in cash, here. It can't possibly mean that much to you."

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam stared at him, bewildered.

"I… well..." Jack looked down at the mirror, and then at the cash Dean was handing him. "I suppose for $300..."

"Thank you!" Dean took the mirror out of his hand, and replaced it with cash. "Come on, guys." He led Castiel and Sam back outside.

"What the hell, Dean? Are you sure that's even it?" Sam said as soon as they were out.

"Yes." Dean grinned, looking down at the mirror. "Good goin', Cas! I can't believe you found it!"

Castiel smiled. "I'm happy to help, Dean."

Dean held the mirror up to look into it. He walked away from the two of them, so that he could see them just slightly in the mirror. In the reflection, their eyes were red, and they had a strange glow to them. Dean gulped at the sight of them. He didn't understand what it meant.

He wanted to just touch the glass, and see where the mirror took him, but he knew that was a bad idea. He needed to do some more research. He needed to know what he was dealing with. "Okay, Cas. Take us home, buddy."

…

Sam had fallen asleep hours ago, curled up with a book on his bed. Castiel was gone, doing his own sort of research on the mirror. Dean was sitting on his own bed with his laptop, but wasn't coming up with anything new. Even with the physical mirror, he wasn't getting anywhere. He heard the rustling sound that indicated Castiel's return. He looked up at the angel's form. The room was quite dark, it being close to one in the morning. "Hey, Cas. Find anything?" Dean whispered, not wanting to wake his brother.

Castiel shook his head, solemnly. "Sorry. There doesn't appear to be anything odd about this mirror."

Dean signed. "Trust me, there is. I just have to find it."

"What makes you so sure?"

Dean pursed his lips. "It's… a long story. Just trust me."

The angel sat down on the bed beside Dean, making Dean shift slightly away. "Why won't you tell me, Dean? You're always honest with me. What's the difference, now?"

Castiel's face was so close to his own, he could feel the angel's breath on his cheek. Did angel's even need to breath? He closed his eyes. "I… I don't know what to tell you, Castiel."

"Have I done something? Are you angry-?"

"No, no, it's not your fault, Cas, I promise. It's me..." Dean opened his eyes and turned to look at Castiel. His blue eyes were just inches from his own green ones. He could feel his hands shaking as he closed the laptop. The last of the light in the room gone, he couldn't even see the angel any more.

He felt Cas lean in, putting his lips against Dean's. Every instinct in Dean's body told him to pull away, and go, but he did not. He had a strange feeling in his stomach, one that he could not explain. But as the angel kissed him, he kissed back.

After a few moments, they stopped. Castiel laid his head down. Dean stared up at the ceiling, trying to keep is breathing normal. Eventually, he fell asleep with Castiel up against him.

The next morning, Dean got up quietly, picked the mirror off the table, and pressed his fingers against the glass. And then he was gone.


	5. Home

_**Sorry for the wait. Enjoy!**_

This wasn't home.

Dean opened his eyes, surprised to find himself in a bathroom. Except this was not some iffy motel bathroom. This was someone's house. The room was white, with gold accents. Dean reached forward at the hanging mirror, realizing he had once again lost the magic mirror. It seemed like he'd never be able to hold on to it after being transported.

He surveyed the room, but could find anything that could give him a clue on where he was, or who's house this was. He slowly turned the handle, careful not to make a noise. He peered out through the open doorway and into a bedroom. No one was there.

He left the bathroom door open as he exited, scanning the room for any signs of life, but it seemed to be just him. Satisfied, he decided to wander through the house.

The moment he opened the door, he heard a strange noise, followed by something bowling into him. "Fuck!" He was so surprised by the attack, that he fell down to the ground on his back, shielding his face from whoever had jumped onto him.

He expected to feel a punch or a kick or nails into his skin, but instead, he felt something even more surprising…. Was someone _licking_ him?

He opened his eyes, and there, on top of him, was a big brown dog. The dog was sloppily slobbering all over Dean's arm, tail wagging it's tail, happily. "Jesus Christ… get off me, dog." Dean pushed the dog off of him, earning a whine from the animal. Feeling bad, he took a moment to pet it, and check the name on the collar. "Rufus?" The dog tilted it's head, it's ears perking up at the sound of his name.

Dean stood up and brushed himself off, giving a hesitant pat on the head to Rufus. As he wandered further down the hallway, the dog trailed happily behind him, it's claws tapping against the tile.

He walked into the living room, which was empty of people as well. He noticed a photograph on the table, and reached to pick it up. At a closer glance, he could see it was a family photo – _his_ family photo. That meant him, Sam, his father, and his mother. Except this was nothing like the one he kept in his wallet. This must have been taken no more than six years ago or so.

No, this certainly wasn't home.

"Hello?" He called out. "Sammy? Mom? Dad?" Still, no one answered. He walked into the kitchen and started going through the drawers. He didn't find anything other than silverware and cooking utensils, so he moved on. He walked past the front door and came to a stop at the waist-high table beside it. There was a basket full of mail resting on it, beside a pair of keys and a wallet. He sifted through the basket and pulled out a few of the envelopes. They were all addressed to him. This was his house.

He was about to drop them all back into the basket when he noticed one of the envelopes he pulled out was sent from Mary Winchester. He let the others fall to the ground, and kept that one. It was already opened, but the letter was still stuck inside.

" _Dean,_

 _Your father wanted me to send you these documents, because_ apparently _he's too busy to do it himself. Sometimes I feel I should remind him I'm his wife, not his secretary. He wouldn't let me scan them onto the computer (he said they were "official business" and needed to be treated with "respect". You know how he gets,) so I had to send them by mail. I would have brought them by myself, but I know how busy you are, nowadays._

 _Your father and I are so proud of you, you know. You always did what we asked of you, and now look at where you are. You've turned out so smart and kind, but you never let me tell you in person, so I decided to sneak it in here._

 _Congratulations on your promotion. Don't think for a second your father had anything to do with getting you that job. You know he wouldn't do that. Allen gave it to you because you earned it, not because your the boss' son. Plus, I think we both know Allen wouldn't listen to your father, anyway._

 _Anyway, here are those documents he apparently needed you to have so badly. I hope to see you soon!_

 _Love, Mom"_

Dean stared at the letter in surprise. Promotion? Dad? What could she be talking about? He looked at the documents she had stuffed into the letter. John was right when he called them business, because Dean couldn't understand what they meant. They were mostly spreadsheets, but he didn't know how to make heads or tails of the numbers on the pages.

Finally he just put them back down on the counter. He looked over at Rufus, who had made himself comfortable on the couch, and was staring at him, curiously. Dean was about to walk over to him, when he heard a phone ringing. He froze at first, having no clue where the phone could be. After a second, he followed the sound back to the bedroom, and saw a cell phone sitting on the dresser. He picked it up and read the name. "Douchebag."

"Hm." He slid to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Winchester! Glad you could answer, dude. It's Stewart, man."

"Yeah, I got caller ID." Dean knew as soon as he heard the guy's voice on the other line why he had labeled him Douchebag on his cell.

Stewart laughed a little too much at that remark. "Right, right, sorry dude. Look, I was just calling to tell you Mrs. Allen keeps pestering me about some reports you were supposed to have turned into her by now."

 _Allen_. Dean went back into the living room and found the letter from his mom. Mrs. Allen must have been the person she was talking about giving him the promotion. "Right… reports… Yeah i'm working on those, don't worry. I'll get him to her as soon as I can."

"Totally, dude. I knew you would, Allen just wanted me to call anyway. She can be _quite_ a bitch sometimes, you know. Well, I guess you wouldn't know, huh?"

Dean wasn't sure what he meant by that, but he really didn't care to find out. "Yeah, anyway… I gotta go, Stewart. I got… reports to fill out. And stuff. Yeah. I'll talk to you later." He said, praying to God that last part wasn't true.

"Alrighty, Dud-"

After hanging up on Douchebag, Dean started scrolling through his contacts. He stopped at Sam's name, and pressed call.

 _Ring. Ring. Ring._ "You have reached the voicemail of 813-73-" He pressed end, and then called again. He still got the voicemail. This time he left a message.

"Hey, Sam, it's Dean. Uh, call me back as soon as possible."

Dean sighed, and held the phone back up. He pressed another name. It rang a few times, but this time someone answered. "Hello?"

"Mom?"

"Dean, hunny! I'm so glad you called. How are you? How's work?"

"It's good, I'm good." Dean smiled. It was good to hear his mother's voice. The last time he saw her was in another universe, but they didn't get to talk much. "I just got your letter..."

"Oh, good, I'm glad. I was worried you wouldn't get it in time."

"No, yeah, I got it. So… hey, uh, I was thinking I might come see you and Dad. Maybe stay for dinner or something."

"Oh, that would be great, Dean. You know you're always welcome. You don't have to call, first."

"I know, I just wanted to make sure you weren't busy. I'll head over soon."

"Then I guess I'll see you soon. Love you!"

"I," Dean's voice almost caught in his throat for a moment. "I love you too."

He put the phone into his pocket, and then picked up the letter, again. He found her address on the face of the letter.

He knew he had to look for the mirror. He knew he needed to get home. But first… he was going to see his mother.


	6. Twists

_**I'm always excited to put out a next chapter for this story. Enjoy!**_

* * *

Dean was nervous as he walked up to the door. It wasn't the house he knew, from Lawrence. It was smaller, but it was nice. He had dressed nice for the occasion, going through his closet and finding lots to choose from. He was a business man, after all, even if it was weird to think about.

He knocked on the door twice, and waited impatiently. When the door opened, however, all his nervousness fell away. "Hey, Mom."

"Dean," Mary reached out and gave her son a hug. It had been a few weeks since she had seen her son, but what she didn't know is that it had been many, many years since he had seen her. Dean hugged her back tightly, and was disappointed when she pulled away. "You look great, dear. Come on in."

Mary led Dean through the house and into the living room. Dean took note of the pictures on the walls. Younger versions of him and Sam were plastered all over the place. Each one took place at a time and place Dean didn't remember. They were all from experiences he didn't get to enjoy in his own universe – elementary school graduations, birthday parties, beach outings. In most of them, John and Mary were there as well. They looked like a happy family.

There were some of them older, as well. Dean was surprised to see his own college graduation photo on the table in the hallway. He did, however, notice a distinct lack of older Sam. It seemed like after high school, he just disappeared.

"Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I'll grab you a beer." Dean took a seat on the couch until Mary came back with a bottle for him. "Your father will be home, soon. He's bringing a friend from work, apparently. Although he said you didn't know him, yet."

Dean nodded. "Thanks for having me, Mom. I had missed you."

Mary's eyes brightened. "You're too sweet, hun. I've missed you, too. We should really do this more often. It's just with you and your father's schedules it's hard to keep up." She looked down at her own glass. She went silent for a moment, thinking, and it worried Dean. He reached out and took her hand in his. She looked up at him, smiling, but she seemed sad. "I'm glad you're here, Dean. I really am. I just wish your brother would come around sometime, too, you know? He's family after all. But ever since he and John had that fight… it's been so hard."

Dean wanted to ask about the fight, and why Sam wasn't around, but at that moment, the front door opened. Two men walked in. The first one was John Winchester. He looked very different from anytime Dean had ever seen him. He was older, and it showed on his face. But he was clean shaven and dressed nicely, his suit jacket folded over his arm and his tie untied.

The second man to walk in took Dean completely by surprise. _Castiel_?

"John," Mary stood to greet her husband. Dean stood as well. Mary walked over and kissed John on the cheek, taking his jacket from him. "How was your day?"

"It was as good as it could have been, sweetheart. You look wonderful, by the way." For the first time, he seemed to notice Dean was the in the room. "Dean, it's good to see you outside of the office, buddy." John walked forward and hugged Dean, as well. It was all very surprising to Dean, but he tried not to let it show.

"Hey, Dad. It's good to see you too."

John glanced back at Castiel, how was still standing rather awkwardly in the doorway. John motioned for him to come in and close the door. "This is a buddy of mine from work, Castiel. Castiel, this is my wife, Mary, and my son, Dean." Castiel reached out and shook Mary's hand first, and then Dean's. "You'll be seeing Dean a lot in the office, now that he got that big promotion, isn't that right, Dean?"

Dean gave a gawky nod. "Yes, sir."

"Come on, John, the food's going to get cold. If I let you start talking business now, it will be hours before we get to eat." John rolled his eyes at his wife, but agreed. Dean couldn't help but feel that all of this was straight from a movie. Somehow, in some other universe, he ended up with the perfect, normal family. Except… something happened with Sam that he still didn't understand. He needed to figure that out.

"You'll love my wife's cooking, Castiel. She's an amazing chef. Come on, everyone. Let's pile into the kitchen, then."

Dean and Castiel both followed John into the kitchen. Dean glanced over at Castiel, curiously. It was weird, seeing him so normal, so human. He didn't have that same angelic presence that he had in Dean's own universe.

Although, as it turned out, he was still just as bad at small talk. "So, I'm new to the company." Castiel spoke out of nowhere as they were settling down at the table. Dean looked over and realized he was talking directly to him. "I used to be an intern. I just got hired, though, for real."

Dean tried to smile, politely. "That's… that's good. Good for you." He hoped his complete lack of interest didn't come off too strongly. He didn't want to be rude to the guy; it was just that this work didn't interest him.

Mary came out with a plate of beef tenderloin, a bowl of potato salad, and a bowl of steamed green beans. "Go ahead and serve yourselves."

At first the table was quiet, as everyone made their plates and started to eat. Everyone complimented Mary after their first bites, and then went back to being quiet. Finally it was Mary who started the conversation. "So, Castiel, you're working with my husband now, right? How is that?"

Castiel had been in the middle of chewing a piece of food. He quickly swallowed, almost making himself choke, before he answered. "Uh, yeah I am. It's been great so far. I'm new to the insurance business, and it was awfully nice of your husband to take me under his wing."

"Well, you're a smart guy, Castiel. I need someone I can trust. Dean's one of those people, for sure." John winked at Dean, who didn't know how to respond to that. "I need to get you ready for a management position. I was going to do that with Sam, but-"

"John, please." Mary interrupted him. She was no long smiling. "Let's not talk about Sam, right now, okay? Let's just have a pleasant meal."

"Who is Sam?" Castiel asked, although everyone ignored him.

"What? This is still a pleasant meal." John disagreed. "I should be allowed to talk about my own son while I eat, shouldn't I? Even if it's the son that completely disowned us, and ran off to California to do God knows what-"

"John-!"

"It's not _my_ fault he wanted nothing to do with the family business. I don't know what went wrong with that boy, but he lost all his sense of fam-"

"John that is enough!" Mary raised her voice, affectively shutting her husband up. The table went silent again, but no one ate. Castiel looked terrified, sitting in between John and Dean. He looked to Dean for some kind of explanation, but Dean couldn't give him one.

So that's what it was. Even in this universe, Sam hated the family business. He still rebelled, just in the opposite direction from the other universe.

"John, I need to talk with you in the kitchen." Mary said quietly, after a few awkward moments of silence that felt like eons to everyone at the table.

She stood up and left, and John stood up after her. "If you boys will excuse me."

Dean and Castiel were left alone at the table. "I, uh, I didn't mean to start anything…" Castiel looked uneasy.

"I don't think it was your fault, man." Dean tried to reassure him. "John just has… very strong feelings about certain things." Not everything changed as Dean crossed universes, apparently.

"I see that." Castiel looked down at his plate. He had eaten most of the potato salad, and some green beans, but the beef was untouched. "So, I forgot to mention something to your father before this dinner. I'm sort of a vegetarian… I didn't want to be rude, but…"

Dean felt a smile forming on his lips. "Seriously, dude? How do you not mention that? It's kind of important."

"I know, I know, but… it's too late now."

"Here, give it to me." Dean took one of the strips of beef, and cut the other in half. He moved it onto his own plate. "There. Just say your full."

Castiel smiled, appreciatively. "Thank you. I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be."

The rest of the dinner went by quietly as the four of them ate in silence. After dinner, Castiel was the first one to bolt, thanking both husband and wife for a lovely dinner before saying he had to go.

John dismissed himself from the group, saying goodnight to Dean and heading up to the bedroom.

"I'm so sorry about that, Dean." Mary apologized when they were alone. "I know you don't like to bring up your brother…"

"No, Mom, it's okay. It's not your fault." He leaned down and hugged her, resting his head on her shoulder. "I was actually thinking about trying to… get back in contact with Sam. I've missed him, too, you know?"

Mary seemed surprised by that, but also very happy about it. "Really? That would be great, Dean. He's still part of this family. He deserves to know we're here for him."

"I agree. Do you have any idea how I could do that? I called the number I have, but he didn't answer. I'm not even sure if that's still his number. "

"Of course, sweetheart. Here…" Mary pulled out her cell phone. "I'll text you the number I have for him, now. Hopefully he hasn't changed it."

"Good. Thanks, Mom."

"I love you, Dean."

Dean paused, taking in the moment. "I love you too, Mom."

Dean walked out to his car, and was surprised to see Castiel still in the driveway. He was leaning against his car, looking at his phone in anger. "Is something wrong?"

The question startled Castiel, who didn't hear him walk over. "Oh, sorry, I… well my car won't start. I was trying to call someone, but… they aren't answering."

"You want me to take a look at it?"

Castiel shook his head. "No, I know what the problem is. The battery's been having problems. I need to get it fixed soon; it's just, you know, that requires money." Castiel laughed halfheartedly. "I got a real job now, though, so I'll be able to get it fixed. I just need to worry about right now."

Dean knew that back at home, in his own car, he'd have jumper cables, and the materials needed to help him. But this businessman Dean, on the other hand, had no such equipment. "I can give you a ride, if you want. I'm sure my parents won't mind you leaving your car here until the morning."

"Well, I don't want to put you out-"

"You won't be, I promise."

Castiel seemed to consider it for a moment, glancing down at his phone. "Well, he doesn't seem to be answering. Thank you, I'd appreciate it."

They both climbed into Dean's car, and Castiel gave him the directions to his place.

The ride was mostly quiet. Dean turned up the radio so neither of them felt the need to fill the air with conversation. He was just doing this to be nice; he really didn't want to get into anything.

Unfortunately, Castiel did not seem to get the memo. "So, your father tells me you're really into ghost stories."

Dean tried to hide the look of humor on his face. Oh course he did, even in a universe where he _didn't_ hunt. Typical. "Uh, yeah, I do, I guess. What about you?"

"I love them. I actually collect supposedly haunted artifacts and stuff."

"Oh, really?"

Castiel nodded. "It's mostly just old stuff that belonged to old ladies until they died and their kids got freaked out. For the most part they seem to be hoaxes, but… I've got strange feelings about some of them."

Dean raised his eyebrows and nodded, acknowledging what Castiel said without actually continuing the conversation. They should be there soon… just a little bit longer.

Castiel continued. "There's a lot of old jewelry. Some clothes. Mostly personal items, like Knick knacks and good luck charms. I have this one little hand mirror that's pretty cool-"

"A hand mirror?" Dean's ears practically perked up at that. "What does it look like?"

"I don't know… just like a hand mirror. Goldish I think? Although it's pretty old, so…"

 _What are the odds…?_ Maybe it was stupid to assume that this mirror just happened to be the one Dean was looking for… but he wasn't about to take the chance and assume it wasn't. He had to see that mirror. "That all sounds pretty cool. You think you could show me some of your stuff?"

Castiel's eyes widened slightly. "Um… yeah, of course. You can… come in, I suppose."

"Awesome."

When they finally arrived at Castiel's house, they both got out of the car and went in. "Nice place you got, here. It just you?" Dean didn't want to seem too obsessed with the mirror. He didn't want Castiel to think he was trying to steal it, or anything. Although, technically, he was.

"Yes, it is. Do you want a drink? I have soda, I think. I might have a few beers, left…"

"A beer would be great."

Castiel left Dean in his living room to go get the drinks. Dean surveyed the room, but he didn't see any of the things Castiel was talking about. He must have had them in a spare room.

Castiel returned, two beers in his hands, and handed one to Dean. Dean expected Castiel to lead the way to the mirror, but instead he sat down on the couch. Dean sat down as well, albeit impatiently.

"So… you've got all that ghost stuff, right?"

Castiel nodded, take a big gulp of his beer. "Yeah, I've been into it for a while. It's a hobby, really, but it's fun."

"Can I see some of it?"

"Oh, right! Of course. Come on, follow me."

Dean followed Castiel through the hallway, and into one of the bedrooms. The room was full of old furniture, knick knacks, jewelry, unbound books, and all sorts of weird things. "So, everything in here is… haunted?"

Castiel shrugged. "Not exactly. They're all _supposedly_ haunted. Most of them, I think it's safe to say, are not."

"Don't you get freaked out, having all this crap in your house?"

"Not really." Castiel took him to the back of the room. He started sifting through the drawers. "I have that mirror I told you about, somewhere… Sorry, it's kind of a mess in here. I keep trying to organize it, but every time I do everything gets moved back to where it was."

"Why is that?"

"Because the ghosts move them." Castiel answered, as if that was supposed to be obvious. "Oh, here we go."

Dean watched as he pulled out a gold hand mirror, just as Dean remembered it. _Son of a bitch._ "Whoa, that's pretty cool looking."

Castiel looked proud of it. "Yeah, I know. I have a lot of theories about it. I'm pretty sure it's one of the real ones."

"Theories? Like what?" Maybe Castiel actually had some valid information about the mirror that could help him get home.

"I've done a lot of research on it. I can find that for you, as well, if you'd like."

"I'd definitely like that. Thanks, man."

Castiel went off to find his research, and he told Dean to wait in the living room. Dean carried the mirror with him, studying it himself. He could see his reflection in it, but it didn't look right. His face was distorted, and his eyes looked like a much brighter shade of green. It made him feel uneasy.

Castiel came back after a few minutes with a stack of papers in his hands. He sat down beside Dean, and spread them out on the coffee table. Dean looked through them as he talked. "So I think it has something to do with an old Chinese legend. You see, the Chinese were pretty into mirrors. They used to make these so-called magic mirrors out of bronze that would appear to be transparent. But they also had this legend of the Fauna of Mirrors.

"According to said legend, there used to be these magical creatures, the fauna, that were able to pass back and forth between different universes, including this one. For whatever reason, they were able to use mirrors as portals between worlds. However, the fauna stated causing trouble on Earth, so the Yellow Emperor, Huang Di, created a trap for them.

"He stuck them inside the mirrors, and put up a magical wall between our universe, and theirs. But, of course, as most legends go, many were worried that one day, they would find a way to break the spell, and return to Earth."

Dean put down the papers. If this were true, it would make a lot of sense. That was how he was transporting between universes. Somehow, they managed to find a way through the spell. The only question left was how they were able to do that, and why they were using him to do it.

"So… what do you think?"

Dean laughed. "I think you've got a lot of extra time on your hands." He looked up at Castiel, who was now just inches away from him. Castiel was looking straight into his eyes, making Dean slightly uncomfortable. Even in this universe, he didn't quite seem to get personal space, or eye contact. "Hey, do you mind if I… borrow some of this stuff? I'd like to look over it some more."

"Sure, I don't mind. I have copies."

Castiel was still staring at him with an expression Dean couldn't quite place. He felt his face getting warm, and he turned away to look back down at the papers.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his knee, making him jump. He looked over to Castiel, and as soon as he did, Castiel leaned in for a kiss.

Dean felt the man's lips press forcefully against his own, and felt a strange sensation going through him; the same one that he had felt in the last universe, when something almost exactly like this happened. Except this time Castiel didn't stop, and Dean didn't make him.

Dean reached his hands to Castiel's face as he kissed him back. He didn't know what he was doing as he allowed his lips to be pried open, and for his self to be pushed downward until he was in a laying down position and Castiel was completely on top of him. Castiel pulled away for a moment, and then moved his lips down to Dean's neck. Again, he didn't protest.

Part of Dean wanted to stop, and leave right away. Part of him regretted coming here in the first place. But another part of him was enjoying himself quite a bit, and that was what worried him.

He was actually enjoying this.

He felt hands, suddenly, unbuttoning his jeans, and he knew that this was his last chance. He had to make a decision, right now, whether to back off, or to let it happen.

Ultimately, he decided to let it happen.


	7. Relationships

Dean felt really good. Better than he had felt in a long time. He only wished he wasn't feeling this way while lying in bed with _Castiel_.

It was getting close to four in the morning when Dean finally got up. Castiel was fast asleep, and it didn't look like he was going to be up anytime soon. It was weird seeing Castiel sleep as he was, since in his own universe he didn't sleep at all.

He had to go back out into the living room to retrieve his jeans and put them on, and then he slipped on his shirt. He noticed the documents Castiel had retrieved about the mirror, as well as the mirror itself, still on the table. He took a seat on the couch and started shuffling through them, again.

Castiel had really done some marvelous research, especially for a guy who couldn't even being to understand the powerful magic he was dealing with. These _Fauna of Mirrors_ sounded more like a fairytale than reality, but then again, so did just about everything Dean encountered on a daily basis.

Yet all this research did nothing to explain why the Fauna would be transporting Dean all over the place. They were locked away in their own universe, so why would fucking with him change that? If they could get past the spell put in by the Yellow Emperor, why didn't they just go through it?

And, more importantly, how did they have the power to do that at all? The mirrors _used_ to be portals between universes, but they had been "shut off" for a long time now. Why were they suddenly opening again?

Dean collected all the materials Castiel had found, and put them into a neat pile. He quietly slipped out the front door and to his car. He threw the documents in the backseat, and placed the mirror carefully on the passenger seat. He was about to hop into the car himself, when he stopped himself. He couldn't just leave in the dead of night, without a note or anything.

Sure, soon enough he would be in a different universe, and he wouldn't have to worry about the consequences of his actions in any of these but… it still didn't feel right. _Someone_ would have to live with his actions once he left. This universe's Dean was going to have to answer to what he did, eventually. So instead of ditching out, he went back inside.

…

"Mornin', Cas."

When Castiel woke up, and the bed was empty, he figured Dean had just left. For a few moments, he cursed himself for being that stupid. But then he noticed what sounded like cartoons coming from the living room. He put a t-shirt on and followed the noise, surprised to see Dean on the couch with a McDonald's bag on the coffee table.

It was around 7 that Castiel finally got out of bed, which gave Dean almost 3 hours to think of something to do. He thought about making breakfast, but that seemed like too much of a challenge – and Castiel had absolutely no food in the entire kitchen, making it even more difficult – so instead he settled for watching TV for 2 hours, and then running up for fast food.

"Uh, good morning, Dean."

Dean motioned down to the fast food bag. "I bought breakfast."

"Thank you." Castiel sat down beside him on the couch and went through the food while Dean continued watching the TV. "What time did you get up?"

Dean shrugged. "Not too long ago."

"Oh." Castiel took a bite of his hash brown. "So… I have to say, I'm a little surprised to see you here, still."

Dean raised one eyebrow. "What, you thought I was gonna bolt immediately?" Castiel shrugged, a little embarrassed he had brought it up. "Well, you're not entirely wrong. I _do_ need to get going. I just thought… I should wait until you wake up."

"You could have just woke me up to tell me. I didn't know I'd be keeping you waiting."

"Nah. You looked comfortable." Dean turned off the television and threw his trash from his food back into the bag. "So…"

Dean seemed to be getting up to leave, but Castiel reached and grabbed his arm, stopping him. "You aren't going to…. You're not going to tell your father, are you? About this…?"

Dean had to stop himself from laughing out loud. He could only imagine the shitstorm that would rain down on him if he told John what had happened here. If this John was anything like his own, he would not have approved even a little bit. Dean couldn't even believe that he had allowed this to happen – he certainly wasn't going to chance telling his father. "No, definitely not. I don't think that's a good idea."

Castiel looked relieved. "Good. I just… I don't want this to affect either of us at the company, you know?"

"Yeah, I understand. But that's even more of a reason to get going, you know?"'

"Of course." Castiel leaned forward, hesitated, and then made up his mind and kissed Dean goodbye. For a second, Dean considered saying _screw the mirror_ , and staying with Cas, here. But he knew he had to get moving, and he had to figure out how to get home.

…

Dean stepped back into his house and was immediately met by Rufus again. He took a moment to say hello, and then went to find the dog food.

After making sure the dog had food and water, he sat down at the counter and pulled out his phone. He went to the latest message from his mother, which was supposedly Sam's new number. Dean figured Sam was his best hope of figuring out how to get home. He dialed the number and hit send, hoping for the best.

 _Ring. Ring. Ring_. "Hello?"

Dean's face perked up at the sound of Sam's voice. "Sam? It's Dean."

"Dean?" Sam asked, almost in disbelief on the other end. "Dean! Wow, it's good to hear from you, bro! How's it going?"

"Good, good. I mean, I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm good. It's nice here, in California. Everyone's really friendly." There was a pause. "How's Mom?"

"She's doing well. I just saw her and Dad for dinner, last night." Dean neglected to mention Castiel.

"Good… and Dad? Is he… did he say anything about me?"

Dean frowned. "Well… you know how Dad is, Sammy. He's… stubborn and all."

There was a silence as Dean assumed Sam was nodding to himself. "Yeah… yeah, I do. So, what's with the random phone call, man? I haven't heard from you since I moved out here. Not that I'm complaining, I just… I wasn't expecting this."

Dean thought about asking Sam about the mirror, and asking for his help, but in the end he decided against it. This was not the same Sam as in his own universe. This was a whole different person, in a whole different situation.

Besides, Sam didn't owe him anything. He had no reason to help Dean with this. At least in the other universe, Dean stuck by Sam's side, and helped _him_ out. In this one, Dean seemed to not care much about Sam at all. Sam ran off to California, which wasn't a different story, but this time, the cut-off of communication seemed to be from the other end.

He was just going to have to figure it out on his own. There was no reason to pull this Sam down with him. It was better to just leave him alone. "Nothing, really. I just… wanted to say hi, you know?"

"Oh, well… thanks, Dean. I hope I can talk to you more often… I've missed you."

"I missed you, too, buddy."


	8. Fixing Things

Dean spent the next two days trying to do more research on the mirror. Now that he had something to go off of, it was slightly easier. Still, most of the internet was speculation and stories, so he had a lot of shit to go through before he could find anything of actual use.

Castiel had called him a few times, and while Dean answered the call, he insisted that he was busy and would get back to him later. John called a few times, as well, but Dean did not answer those calls. He was sure they were work related, and he had no idea how he would handle whatever questions his dad had for him. He also knew that tomorrow was Monday, and he would most likely be expected to _show up_ to work, which wouldn't work for him either.

He wouldn't mind hopping over to another universe, and leaving _this_ Dean to deal with his own problems, but he knew that if he did, he would be losing all the valuable research Castiel had done in this one. Each time he woke up in a new universe, he lost everything, like a hard reset. He couldn't leave this universe until he was sure he had everything he needed from this one.

Dean was sitting on the couch, half-asleep on Sunday night, when Rufus suddenly started barking, uncontrollably. Dean leaned down to pet him, but then he heard a knock on the door.

He shushed the dog the best he could, and made his way over to the front door. He peered through the peep hole and was shocked at who he saw.

He opened the door. "Sam?"

Sam stood in the doorway, his backpack on his shoulders, and a duffel bag in one hand. He was smiling, slightly, but mostly he just looked nervous. He looked different than the other iterations of Sam Dean had met, so far. His hair was much longer than it had ever been, and it was tied back in a ponytail. He seemed to be growing a beard, and was dressed in cargo shorts and a t-shirt. "Hey, Dean."

Dean looked him over. "Hi…"

"Sorry I didn't call first… I shouldn't have just shown up at your door…"

"No, no, I was just surprised." Dean back up to allow Sam to enter. "Come on in."

Sam looked relieved to be invited, and quickly entered the house. "Well, everything looks pretty much the same." He was stopped in place by Rufus, who ran into his legs and started jumping onto him. "Hey, Rufus!" Sam put down his bags so that he could greet the dog. "It's good to see you, again, buddy."

"You want a beer?" Dean offered, heading into the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure." Sam brought his things over into the living room, and left them beside the end table. As soon as he sat on the couch, he noticed the papers spread out on the coffee table. He picked one of the papers up and read the title, " _The Myth of the Mirrors_." He was going to investigate further, but he heard Dean coming back with the drinks, so he quickly put the paper back where he had found it.

Dean handed him a bottle, and then sat down himself.

"So… how's work going?" Sam asked, awkwardly, trying to make small talk.

Dean shrugged. He honestly _didn't_ know. "You know, it's work. Same old, same old."

"Oh, okay. I've been doing a lot of writing. I'm feelin' pretty good about this one. I think it might get published."

 _So he's a writer._ "Really? That's awesome. I'm glad to hear it." It was weird, talking to Sam like he didn't know him. Like he was some distant relative he barely ever saw. Which, in this universe, may have been the case, but it just didn't feel right to Dean. It didn't feel like he was talking to his brother. "So what brings you down here?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably in his seat and took a sip of his beer. "Well… I wanted to see you." Sam smiled slightly, looking a little embarrassed. "You know… it's been hard for me, being away from you. We used to be so close. I know it's my fault. I'm the one who left – and you have every right to be pissed about that – but it still sucks. I didn't know if I could call you, or come see you, because I wasn't sure how mad you were. I really thought I may never see you again. That is, until you called last week."

"Sam…" Dean reached out for his brother's shoulder. "You don't have to feel bad about that. This life just wasn't for you. You shouldn't have to apologize for doing what's best for _you_ , and if I made you feel like you did… then _I'm_ the asshole, not you."

Dean thought back to his own brother, and wondered if he had felt the same way when he left for Stanford. Dean had been pissed when Sam left – but mostly he was just hurt. He hoped Sam didn't feel like he _couldn't_ come back if he wanted to. Because the whole time, Dean was wishing he would do just that.

Sam's eyes were filled with tears, but he didn't let them fall. "Thanks, Dean. I needed that."

"Of course. I'm glad you came."

"Me too."

Dean smiled. "So, I assume you're staying for a while?"

"Well, I was gonna get a hotel room…"

"Nah, why waste the money? You're welcome to stay here."

"Thanks, but Dad-"

"Dad doesn't live here, I do. I can make my own decisions." Dean assured him. "Now… how about I whip us up something to eat, huh?"

Sam nodded, knowing it was no use to argue. He was going to stay. "Yeah, sure."

Dean stood up and headed toward the kitchen. "I'm not really sure what I have, but-" Dean turned around just in time to see Sam pick up the mirror from the coffee table. "Whoa, whoa, don't touch that!" He didn't know whether or not the mirror would work for other people, and he didn't want Sam getting sucked out of this universe, like he had from his own. At least Dean had _known_ better than to mess with it. He ran back and quickly grabbed the mirror from his brother.

He was so concerned with taking it before Sam could touch the glass that he completely forgot not to touch the glass himself. As soon as his finger made contact with the smooth surface, he knew it was too late.

"Shit!" Dean felt himself once again falling through worlds. He now knew that he was somehow getting through a small crack in the "wall" between the worlds.

When his head stopped spinning, and he could see again, he wanted to yell.

He hadn't been ready to leave yet. He had things to take care of in that universe – even if it wasn't _his_ problems. Plus, he still had more research to do. "God damn it."

Dean paused, his face scrunching up in confusion. He cleared his throat, and spoke again. "God damn it?"

He was so sure that he had spoken… and yet nothing was coming out. He pressed his fingers against his throat and tried again. He could feel the vibrations under his skin, but still he heard nothing.

He looked around at the new house he was in. It appeared to be an apartment, actually, and it wasn't quite as nice as the last one. He spotted the TV from across the room. It was on, but no sound was coming out of it.

He walked over and found the remote, and pressed the _volume up_ button over and over. Still nothing. The captions were on.

Slowly, a revelation was coming to him. A revelation that was going to make things just that more difficult for him in finding the mirror, again.

He was deaf.


	9. Deaf

_**Sorry for the wait! I've hit such a writer's block, you won't believe. I know where I want to go eventually with this story, but… it's taking a while to get there. Enjoy!**_

Dean felt himself going into full on panic mode.

He stuck his finger in his ear, checking to make sure nothing was blocking himself from hearing. There wasn't anything there. He looked around spastically, looking for something – anything – that may make noise. Maybe the TV was broken. Maybe this was all a huge mistake.

He couldn't see anything, so he rushed into the kitchen. He laid eyes on the microwave, and immediately went towards it. He set the timer for 3 seconds, growing more concerned when he couldn't hear the normal _beep_ when he pressed down on a button. When the three seconds were up, the light inside the appliance turned off, the numbers 00:00 started to flash, but he couldn't hear the ding.

"What am I going to do?"

Dean, haven given up trying to prove he could hear, turned around and pressed his back against the counter. He had to think, now, not freak out. All he had to do was find the mirror – wherever it was – and then he could get the hell out of this universe.

He let himself slide down the floor. He slammed his hands on the floor over and over. He knew he needed to calm down and think clearly. He had somehow navigated his way through the other universes so far, and some of those were fucking _weird_. This one was no different. He could find that mirror with or without his hearing. It would just take a little getting used to.

The first thing he had to do was get in contact with someone he knew. He picked up the cell phone and opened up his contacts list. He scrolled through several names he didn't recognize until he found Sam. He went to call him and had to stop himself. Duh. That wasn't going to work.

Instead, he clicked to text, instead. "Sam, I need to see you."

He clutched the phone to his chest and sat down right in the middle of the floor. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. He had to think of a backup plan in case Sam didn't work out. He didn't know anything about his relationship to this Sam in this universe. He didn't know if he'd ever get an answer.

After a few moments of thought, he went back to his contact list to look for more names he was familiar with. Rather quickly, he spotted Bobby's name. He sent another message. "Hey, Bobby, can I talk to you?"

Just a few seconds after he sent the text, his phone vibrated. It was Sam. "Dude, you know I'm helping Dad right now. can't it wait?"

 _Helping dad?_ Dean read the text over again. _As in, on a hunt...?_ He went to reply, but the phone buzzed again.

"Wait, are you okay? Are you having an episode?"

 _An episode?_ Dean stared down at the text. _What the fuck does he mean, an episode?_

 _Buzz!_ Another text. "Should I call Castiel for you?"

Dean immediately replied, "yes," and nothing more. He didn't know what kind of episode Sam apparently thought he was having, but if he couldn't get Sam over here, he could at least talk to Cas. He just needed to talk to _someone._

"Just stay inside, okay? Stay calm. I'll be home before you know it."

Dean let his phone slide down to the floor. He put his head in his hands and just stayed like that for a moment. He couldn't help but feeling he was totally fucked this time around. He had no idea how he was going to get out of this one.

Suddenly, he felt a pressure on his shoulder, as if there was a hand on him. He jumped backwards, immediately, flipping over to face whoever it was. He was instinctively prepared to attack the mystery person, but he was able to let out a sigh of relief when he turned to see Castiel.

Castiel held his hands up, showing that he meant no harm. "Sorry, Cas. I didn't except that."

Castiel squinted, tilting his head just a bit. He pointed at Dean, and then brought his hand back, making an "O" with his fingers. He then quickly moved them into another shape where his pointer finger was slanted up, and the rest were slanted down except for his thumb, which crossed the other fingers.

Dean quickly understood that Castiel was trying to use sign language with him, but Dean had no clue what that meant. He looked up from Castiel's hands to his face, which was twisted in confusion. Castiel repeated the motions, and this time Dean realized that as he signed, he also mouthed the words.

"Are you okay?" Dean was pretty sure that was what he was saying.

"I don't know, Cas. I don't know..."

Castiel held out his hand to help Dean up, and Dean accepted it. Once he was standing, it was easier to read Castiel's lips. Castiel signed some more, but Dean just stared at his lips, instead.

"Sam called, _ you needed help _." Dean had trouble with a couple words, but he got the gist of it.

"Uh, yeah... Yeah I texted Sam..."

"Episode?"

Dean frowned. "I... I don't know. I don't know what you're talking about."

Castiel looked sympathetic. "You're okay. _ _ _. Do you know where you are?"

"My house."

Castiel nodded and then made a motion like he was knocking on an invisible table in front of him. "Sometimes this happens. _ _ forget. You just need to calm down. I have something for you."

Castiel turned and walked into the living room, and Dean followed suit. Castiel opened up one of the drawers and pulled out a manila envelope. He handed it to Dean.

Dean made a face, but accepted the folder. He opened it up and looked through the papers.

There were a few medical papers which all had his name on it. Most of them were dated from 1985, making Dean just six years old. "Bacterial meningitis?" Dean repeated, reading off the sheet. "That's what caused… this?" He asked, pointing to his ear. Castiel nodded, and motioned for him to keep reading.

The next pages were a lot more numerous. They were forms, all signed by a Doctor Marchetti. The dates started in 1987, but continued well into the 90's. He flipped through them, reading mostly the underlined sentences, which seemed to get the point across pretty well. _Dissociative amnesia_ , _depressive episodes_ , _detachment from reality._ "What the hell… this… this can't be about me. " Dean looked to Castiel for conformation.

"You've suffered a lot. _ impact."

"You mean this is from my deafness? Who gives a shit? Why would I freak the fuck out so much?" Dean shook his head. Yeah, being deaf really hurt him now, but that was just because he didn't know what to do. He couldn't communicate. But in the universe, he had been deaf since he was six. He'd be used to it by now. That couldn't possibly be the cause of his mental disorders.

Castiel frowned, but didn't respond. Dean knew he was hiding something. He knew more than he was letting on. There was more to this story. But that would have to wait. His number one priority was finding the mirror, so he could just get out of this universe and not worry about any of this at all.

"Okay… whatever. I just need to jog my memory or something, right?" Castiel nodded. "I think I remember something… but it's blurry in my head. It's like… It's a mirror? Yeah, a handheld mirror. Do you know anything like that?"

Castiel thought for a moment. "No. I don't remember a mirror. Do you want me to look into it, for you?"

"That would be great."


End file.
